TECH BATTLE

08.24.11

Apple Wins Europe Patent War

Ahn Young-joon / AP Photo

It's the battle of the smartphones, and major manufacturers Apple and Samsung are in the thick of it. After filing a complaint in a Dutch court that several new Samsung smartphones infringed on three of its own patents, Apple won the case for one patent breach, which will force Samsung to ban the sales of three models in Europe. The breached patent involved a certain method of scrolling and browsing through photos in some Samsung smartphones. Apple had originally filed a statement saying, "It's no coincidence that Samsung's latest products look a lot like the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interface and even the packaging." But the court dismissed all of Apple's other charges and said Samsung's patent violation could be rectified and that a few technical changes to the phones would allow them to go back up for sale again.